A gaming machine, in its very basic form, allows a player to place a wager and produces a game play outcome that determines a player winning or losing the wager. The outcome of a random number generator of the gaming machine is primarily presented to the player on the gaming machine display device with appealing graphics and animations.
The player can interact with the gaming machine in a number of ways, for example by pressing mechanical buttons (or switches) or by touching a screen. The gaming machine software will respond to a player's input, such as by generating new graphics, animations and sounds, and alter an internal software state of reflect the new presentation. For instance, a touch screen icon will transition from a depressed representation to a pressed representation, and the software will act on a virtual button press (by invoking an action corresponding to the icon representation).
Gaming machines generally present graphical icons corresponding to virtual buttons on the screen for the player to interact with, where only a single touch action would be processed on either touch down (touch action detected when the screen is touched), touch up (touch action no longer detected, corresponding to the finger no longer touching the screen) or both touch down and touch up.
Gaming machines may also present graphical interpretations of realistic objects, such as a wheel to spin or a lever to pull, in which a touch motion (linear or angular swipe) will advance the software state (such as start a wheel spin or activate a new game segment).
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.